Persons Receiving Intensive Benefit Support

The incentives and provisions that were indicated by specialists as options for beneficiaries to pursue varied across current benefit status, consistent with expectations. A Trial Work Period, which provides an opportunity for beneficiaries to test work skills while maintaining benefits, was presented as options to about 80 percent of SSDI and concurrent beneficiaries, with a subsequent Extended Period of Eligibility being presented to over three quarters of these individuals. A Plan for Achieving Self Support was presented to roughly a third of SSI and concurrent recipients and to 15 percent of SSDI beneficiaries. Impairment Related Work Expenses were presented to about half of all intensive benefit support recipients, regardless of benefit status.

Section 1619(a) was presented to over 40 percent of SSI recipients and to over one third of concurrent recipients, and 1619(b) was presented to nearly three quarters of SSI and concurrent recipients. The Medicaid Buy-In program was most likely to be presented as an option for SSDI beneficiaries and least likely to be presented for SSI beneficiaries. Extended Medicare was presented to over a third of concurrent beneficiaries and to an even greater proportion of SSDI beneficiaries, while Subsidy Development was presented to about 20 percent of SSDI and concurrent beneficiaries. The incentives presented as options least frequently overall were Blind Work Expense and Student Earned Income Exclusion, possibly due to the demographic characteristics of the individuals currently served by the BPAO Program.